Today: BOS Prospect Daniel Bard
Daniel Bard is a big, strong righthander in the Boston Red Sox organization. Drafted out of North Carolina, he was one of the best college pitchers in America before Boston took him as their first round pick in 2006. A late sign, he wasn't shipped off to Greenville for observation until spring 2007, though he was moved up to A level Lancaster after 17 starts.
Lancaster is a hitting paradise that's tough on pitchers, and Bard's numbers showed it, as he was pummelled for a 10.13 ERA in five starts. The frustration may have contributed to his wildness, too, as he walked 22 batters against only nine strikeouts.
| Yr | Tm | Age | W | L | ERA | G | GS | CG | SH | GF | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | K/9 | WHIP |
| 2007 | Greenville | 22 | 3 | 5 | 6.42 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 61.2 | 55 | 49 | 44 | 3 | 56 | 38 | 5.55 | 1.80 |
| 2007 | Lancaster | 22 | 0 | 2 | 10.13 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.1 | 21 | 23 | 15 | 2 | 22 | 9 | 6.08 | 3.23 |
| 2008 | Greenville | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0.64 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 28.0 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 43 | 13.82 | 0.57 |
| 2008 | Portland | 23 | 1 | 1 | 6.08 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 13.1 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 17 | 11.48 | 1.20 |
Bard has one of the best fastballs in the Red Sox system, a sizzling 96-98mph weapon that even comes with nasty late movement. He can blow away lesser hitters and shatter the bats of great ones. Unfortunately, his off-speed and breaking pitches are below-average: he has no real command of any secondary offerings, with his best at present being a loopy off-speed curve (or slurve) that he's able to throw for strikes at least some of the time.
After watching Bard's electric fastball get wasted as a starter who would get hammered after batters realized they could wait on it, the Red Sox have recently re-deployed Bard as a reliever, and in that role he could blossom. The youngster has closer stuff and all the aggressiveness you could want from a late-inning pitcher, and his fastball alone could shut down the seventh or eighth inning, Broxton/Zumaya-style, as soon as 2009.
Update: Bard was sent down to Greenville again to learn to be a reliever, and he seemed to really thrive in the role, with a 0.64 ERA and 43 strikeouts (!) in 28 innings out of the bullpen. He's recently been moved up to AA Portland, and if he keeps missing bats, he could be in Boston for September. He's definitely a premium reliever to keep in mind for 2009 and 2010.
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